Improvement in seed-planters



J. W. FAWKES.

Grain-Drill NoA 7,837. Patented Dec.. 17, 1850.

miran FHOTCAH'JMHQ? WASHINGTON, o C,

ATENT OEEICE.

JOSEPH W. FAWKES, OF BART, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEED-PLANTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 7,837, dated December 17, 1850.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH W. FAwKEs, of Bart township, in the county of Lancaster and State ot' Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements to the Grain-Drill; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,

-making a part of this specification.

The nature and object ot my invention and improvement consists in sowing grain, wheat, and oats with more constant .regularity by curved slots or apertures in the horizontal cogwheels, as arranged under the hopper, with the devices for gearing and ungearing and the adjusting-shovels.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A is the frame-work; B, the hopper; O, a circular grate attached underneath tothe hopper for the purpose ot' a guard to contine the grain to the horizontal seeding-plate underneath, with an aperture, D, to allow the grain to pass through and into the curved apertures 0r slots uninjured or unbroken at their termination; E, the seven cast-iron horizontal cog-wheel sowers, with four (more or less) curved apertures or slots, so arranged and curving with each other as toallow the grain to pass through with the most constant regularity, and on account of the constant and. regular dropping ot' the seed and preserving them unbroken is an improvement over the graindrills made with slides or straight or round apertures. These wheels E revolve with a journal working in the plate F underneath.

F are cast-iron circular plates underneath the sewers E, having an oblong aperture for the grain to pass through into the funnels. 'lhese plates F are screwed fast to the iiat wooden levers Gr underneath, and by the moving ot' the lever G at any time from right to left, and vice versa, the sowing ot'one or more ofthe sowers is stopped.

H is thejoin'ted carriage-axle, having a main driving cog-wheel, I, attached by a thumbscrew and a. lever, J, at the joint of the axle. One end of the lever J is lirmly screwed onto the center cfa cross-piece of frame-work, and the other end projecting through the oblong angular slot ot the sliding plate K, for the purpose of throwing the machine in o'r out ofgear by the operation or application ofthe upright lever L.` The sliding platevK has two oblong apertures and one angular, and slides or operates from right to left, and vice versa, upon the hind cross-piece ot' frame-work, and is supported by two screw-bolts. This plate K is operated upon and receives its side motion from the upright lever L, which keys into the plate K and holds the lever L firm when the machine is thus ungeared.

M is the center cast-iron driving horizontal wheel, operated upon by the main drivingwheel I underneath, acts as a. sower, and acts and operates upon three sewers, E, on each side. This wheel M has two or more circular ranges ot' coge underneath, for the purpose ot' regulating the quantity ot' grain to be sown to the acre by the shifting of the main cog-wheel I upon either lange ot'eogs, and wheneverthe sliding plate K is moved to the left the lever J is drawn downward, and at the same time draws the axle H down, which ungears the main wheel l from the wheel M.

N represents the cast-iron shovels, made of two pieces, forming a circular tube, grooved into each other, and having two points beneath and two projections, O, on each piece, and a handle, 1), attached tooneof the pieces. These shovels N revolve in a cast-iron cylinder, Q, with spiral-shaped ends, and are for the'purpose ot raising and lowering the points of the shovel, and, when revolved, in order to keep the hind point so raised as not to obstruct the grain or intert'ere with it when deposited; and whenever the mouth becomes clogged with any obstruction, by drawing the handle P to the right or left the front point ot' the shovel is drawn bach and the'back point is hroughtt'orward, while with the same motion the front point is lowered and the hack rout raised, and the mouth ot' the shovel is thus completely cleared of all obstruct-ions by this operation and the. friction of the ground.

1t represents the fnnnels` underneath the le.- vers G, b v which the grain is passed through apertures S in cross-piece of frame-work, and secures a regular and constant dropping of the grain into the shovels N.

What I'claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The peculiar construction ofthe adjustable shovels N to clear the mouth ot' any obstructions.

2. The mode and manner ofsowing the grain -through the slots, as herein described.

Witnesses: JOSEPH W. FAWKES.

W. T. AMWEG, J oHN ROOK. 

